Standing Guard Art Exhibit

Award winning photographer De an Tokuno exhibited photographs
of his Uncle Tim who served heroically in World War II. Dean
has previously exhibited two powerful interpretive documentaries
of his parents and his grandfather. The Ridley
Gallery show was the first showing of the views of his
uncle. The exhibit opened February 19, 2002, the anniversary of the signing of
the Executive Order 9066 in 1942. During the exhibit former
internees and veterans who served in the all-Japanese American
442nd Regimental Combat Team, nicknamed the "Purple Heart
Brigade" were in the gallery to talk about their experiences
with visitors.

The
library in Rocklin and Grass Valley showcased historic artifacts
and photographs related to life in Placer County before and
during the war years. On view was a part of an exhibit from
the Klamath Falls Museum including a searchlight from a guard
tower at the Tule Lake Internment Camp.

Anthony Gill of the Art Department directed an installation
on campus of 1,800 ceramic tea bowls symbolizing the numbers
of people affected and their remarkable spirit. Anthony threw
each bowl with imperfections characteristic of the traditional
rustic style-- each individual, each unique.

Photographs
and Memorabilia

Other display cases throughout the LRC on both campuses
showed artifacts giving a sense of the times in the early
1940's. The displays thematically covered the Japanese American's
Placer County involvement in four areas: agriculture, education,
the internment camps and the military. Some display items
were on loan from the Klamath Falls Museum, the Sacramento
Archives Museum and Collection Center and community individuals.
Annuals from Placer Junior College were displayed along with
yearbooks from Tule Lake loaned by Hisako Sugioka from Penryn.